Special photo . Keith Newcomer and his son Christopher were killed Oct. 16 in a plane crash in Monticello. Newcomer was a member of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1025, based at Covington Municipal Airport. A memorial service will take place there Saturday morning.

COVINGTON -- A memorial service for Keith and Christopher Newcomer, who recently died in an airplane crash near Garvey Airfield in Monticello, will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at Covington Municipal Airport, located at 15200 Airport Road. The public is invited.

Keith Newcomer was a member of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1025, based at the Covington airport. His brother Steve founded the local chapter in 1992. Newcomer and his 7-year-old son, Christopher, had participated in an EAA event at the Covington airport on Oct. 16 before flying to Monticello, where Newcomer was working on a hangar. Just after takeoff at around 6:30 p.m., the plane crashed and erupted in flames. The crash is still under investigation.

The loss has been profound for members of the local EAA.

"We are a small but close group of pilots," said Emory Geiger, president of EAA Chapter 1025. Geiger has fond memories of Newcomer and his special bond with his son, who would often come to EAA events.

"He was such a good person. He loved his son ... they were inseparable," Geiger said.

Newcomer was a well-known businessman in Arcata, Calif., and split his time between there and Georgia, where his son lived.

The funeral for Christopher Newcomer, who lived in Winder with his mother, was set to take place this morning at Lord and Stephens Funeral Home in Bogart. Funeral services for Keith Newcomer will take place Oct. 31 in Arcata, Calif.